Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698938558866.pdf (South Africa)
Women’s parliament 2020 Generation Equality: Advancing our Collective Efforts to end Gender-based Violence & Femicide WHY GENDER EQUALITY MATTERS T he world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

Based on current trends, it would take approximately 99.5 years to reach gender parity; and it would take 257 years to close the gender gap in economic opportunity.
The year 2020 marks 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, 5 years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and more than 40 years since the introduction of CEDAW – the Convention on the Elimina- tion of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

With countries across the globe being signatories to these international agreements, the expectation is that by now, universal equality should have been achieved.

However, this is not the case.


While significant strides have been made to advance the rights of women and girls, particularly in relation to education and health, substantial challenges remain.

The doors to economic and political opportunities have been opening slowly and reluctantly.

Women constitute 18 percent of top management glob- ally and only 25 percent of parliamentarians.
In addition, global estimates published by the World Health Organisation indicate that approximately 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

Unicef re- ports that one in every twenty girls aged 15-19 – (around 13 million) – has ex- perienced rape in their lifetime.

One in four girls has experienced recent vio- lence by a partner.
The Human Development Report’s Gender Inequality In- dex - a measure of women’s empowerment in health, education and economic status - shows that overall progress in gender inequality has been slowing in recent years.

These pervasive challenges are indicative that much more needs to be done before true gender equality is reached.

Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities between women and men.
Equality means that women and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not de- pend on their gender.

Intersectional bias based on gender, race and sexual orientation must be eliminated to achieve gender equality.

The specific needs of typically marginalised groups such as LGBTQIA+ persons and persons with disabilities must be included in every plan and decision aimed at attaining equality.
Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognising the diversity of different groups of women men.

Gender equality requires equal opportunities for all people and equally valued work for doing the same job.

Equality be- tween women and men is a precondition for and indicator of sustainable peo- ple-centred development.

Unless these challenges are addressed, the gendered scales will remain unbalanced.
advocacy UN Women has launched the ground-breaking, multigenera- tional campaign: “Generation Equality: Realising women’s rights for an equal fu- ture”, aiming to bring together the next generation of women’s rights activists with the gender equality advocates who were instrumental in creating the Beijing Platform for Action more than two decades ago.

Collectively, these change makers are tackling the unfin- ished business of empowering women.

South Africa has joined the Generation Equality cam- paign.
As part of the campaign, South Africa is now part of two Action Coalitions, one on econom- ic justice and rights and another on gender-based violence and femicide.

These Action Coalitions mobilise governments, civil socie- ty and the private sector for col- lective action.
INSIDE: The cost of gender-based violence ......... 2 Crimes against women and children .... 2 A call to action ................................................. 3 Five-year outcomes of the NSP on GBVF .................................................................... 4 Economic Empowerment ........................... 5 Women’s labour force participation…..5 Valuing women’s unpaid care work ..... 6 Women in the SA: The Numbers………...7 In conclusion…….……………………………………..8 THE COST OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE on education.
A 2014 study by KPMG on the eco- nomic impact of gender-based violence in South Africa found that using a conservative estimate, gender-based violence costs South Africa between R28.4 billion and R42.4 billion per year – or be- tween 0.9% and 1.3% of GDP annually.

To place this in perspective, the entire budget for the De- partment of Basic Education for 2020/21 is R25.3 billion, while the Department of Human Settle- ments is allocated R31.3 billion for the same peri- od.
The scale of gender-based violence in South Africa is significant, and over the past five years, it has not decreased substantially enough to indicate that current strategies are effective.

This is despite the presence of extensive legislation and policy related to violence against women and girls.

This in turn poses a challenge for women’s substantive gender equality.

Whilst legislation exists to promote wom- en’s rights, the threat of violence detracts from this.
In South Africa, violence against women are in- cludes sexual violence; domestic violence; gender- based violence due to harmful traditional or cus- tomary practices (ukuthwala and virginity testing); violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people; harassment (physical and sexual); femicide; and trafficking.

In addition to the immeasurable human impact, gender-based violence entails significant social and economic costs.
In some countries, violence against women is estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their GDP – more than double what most governments spend Women and girls are being abused, assaulted and murdered in our country every day - at the hands of men.
We are in the throes of a deep crisis that must be brought to a decisive end—President Cyril Ramaphosa, foreword, National Strategic Plan on GBVF CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN 3481 women sexually assaulted; 25 801 women raped in 2019/20 3727 children sexually assaulted in 2019/20 17 118 children raped in 2019/20 Even with the existence of progressive laws, policies and programmes, the high levels of sexual violence against women and children, specifically rape, are a serious challenge to South Africa.
A 2018 Statistics South Africa study on Crime against Women in South Africa notes that it should be a matter of concern, that while the murder rates of both men and women declined steadily between 2000 and 2015, the murder rate for women increased 7.7% between 2015 and 2016/17.

The murder rate for men, though still higher than that of women, continued to decline between 2015 and 2016/17.
Crime statistics released by the South African Police Services for 2019/20 indicate that:     For the 2019-20 year, contact crime or crime against the person, has increased by 0.7% from 617 210 in 2018-19 to 621 282 (4 072 new cases) For the same period, sexual offences have increased by 1.7% from 52 420 in 2018-19 to 53 293 in 2019-20 92 191 of contact crimes occurred in private residences – either the victim or perpetrator’s residence or those of family, friends or neighbours.
This includes 18 231 rapes that occurred in private residences.

38 356 contact crimes, (excluding rape and other sexual assault), were perpetrated by a current or former partner or spouse of the victim.

 Crimes by family members, parents or guardians are indicated for 11 097 cases of contact crime.

 2 Sexual Offences against women and children account for 99.7% of all sexual offences, indicating that the scale of the problem is huge and requires urgent intervention.
REMEMBERING Valencia Farmer Anene Booysen Zurina Salie Sasha-Leigh Crook Aviwe JamJam Zanele Khumalo Rene Roman Chanelle Henning Ernestine Braaf Franziska Blochliger Hannah Cornelius Sinoxolo Mafevuka Hope Zinde Courtney Pieters Jesse Hess Karabo Mokoena Leighandre Jegels Stacha Arendse Thembisile Yende Gill Packham Jodene Pieters Ashika Singh Uyinene Mrwetyana Viwe Dalingozi Winnie Rust Sisanda Fani Zara Hector Stacey Adams Verusha Padayachee Amina Abrahams Susan Rhode Bongekile Tenza Kutlwano Masilo Tshegofatso Pule Naledi Phangindawo Nompumelelo Tshaka Nomfazi Gabada Nwabisa Mgwandela Altecia Kortjie Raynecia Kortjie Lindelwa Peni Naledi Phangindawo Gomolemo Legae Nthabiseng Rampai Precious Ramabulana Kgaugelo Tshawane Aviwe Wellem Meghan Cremer Nhlanhla Mphahlele Amahle Quku & MANY OTHER BRAVE WOMEN WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE & FEMICIDE 3 A CALL TO ACTION In August 2018, following the alarming increase in violence meted out against women and children, civil society mobilised under the banner #Totalshutdown demanding a response to the injustice.
This action resulted in the hosting of the Presidential Summit on Gender- based Violence and Femicide which took place in November 2018.

The summit aimed to strengthen the response to gender-based violence at the highest levels, as well as across all levels of Government and all levels of society.

One of the key deliverables promised at the summit was the establishment of an Interim Steering Committee to develop a National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
Progress was slow, and just one year post the #Totalshutdown, following harrowing reports of increased violence against women and children, thousands of South Africans marched to Parliament to demand ac- tion and justice on 5 September 2019, under the slogan ENOUGHISENOUGH.
In his address to the nation on 5 September 2019, the President noted that “We have heard the calls of the women of our country for action and for justice.” In a special parlia- mentary sitting on 18 September 2019, President Ramaphosa outlined various emergency measures that would be undertaken to address gender-based violence and femicide.

The overall aim of the emergency measures was to address systemic failure.
The “five-point plan” included how to prevent gender-based violence in general; how to strengthen the criminal justice system; steps that should be taken to enhance the legal and policy frame- work; what should be done to ensure adequate care support and healing for victims of gen- der-based violence; and measures to improve the economic empowerment of women.
Over and above the emergency measures, the development of a National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide, as resolved at the Presidential Summit, will guide the response to gender-based violence.

The NSP was launched in 2020 and fo- cuses on violence against all women (regardless of age, physical location, disability, sexual orientation, sexual and gender identity, nationality and other identities).

It includes a focus on violence against children.


The approach of the plan contextualises GBVF within the wider context of the normalisation of violence, its impact across the life cycle on all women, and at the same time the disproportionate impact on women, chil- dren and LGBTQIA+ persons marginalised by race, class, geography, age and ableism.
The 6 pillars of the NSP on GBVF 4 Pillar 1: Accountability, Co-ordination & Leadership  Bold leadership, strengthened accountability across Government and society that responds to GBVF strategically with clear messaging and adequate technical and financial resources;  Strengthened multi-sectoral coordination and collaboration across different tiers of Government and sections of society based on relationships of trust that give effect to the pillars of the NSP.Pillar 4: Response, Care, Support & Healing  Strengthened delivery capacity in South Africa to roll out evidence-based prevention programmes;  Changed behaviour and social norms within key groups as a result of the rollout of evidence-based prevention interventions;  Shifts away from toxic masculinities towards embracing positive alternative approaches for expressing masculinities and other sexual and gender identities, within specific communities/groups;  Optimally harnessed programmes on violence against children that have an impact on GBV eradication;  Increased cross fertilisation and integration of prevention interventions on violence against LGBTQIA+ persons with broader GBVF prevention and violence prevention interventions;  Strengthened programming that addresses the restoration of human dignity, build caring communities and responds to historic and collective trauma;  Public spaces are made safe and violent free for all, particularly women and children.Pillar 2: Prevention & Rebuilding Social Cohesion  All GBV survivors are able to access efficient and sensitive criminal justice that is quick, accessible, responsive and gender inclusive;  Strengthened capacity within the criminal justice system to address all impunity, effectively respond to femicide and facilitate justice for GBV survivors;  Amended legislation related to GBV areas that build on legislative reforms initiated under the Emergency Response Action Plan Pillar 3: Justice, Safety & Protection  Accelerated initiatives that address women’s unequal economic and social position, through access to Government and private sector procurement, employment, housing, access to land, financial resources and income other generating initiatives;  Safe workplaces that are free of violence against women and LGBTQIA+ persons, including but not limited to sexual harassment;  Demonstrated commitment through policy interventions, by the South African state, private sector and other key stakeholders to eliminate the impact of economic drivers of GBV;  Strengthened child maintenance and related support systems to address the economic vulnerability of women.
Pillar 5: Economic Power  Strengthened existing response, care and support services by the state and civil society in ways that are victim-centred and survivor-focused to facilitate recovery and healing;  Secondary victimisation is eliminated through addressing specific individual and systemic factors that drive it;  Victims feel supported by the system to access the necessary psychosocial, material and other support required to assist them with their healing;  Strengthened community and institutional responses to provide integrated care and support to GBVF survivors and their families that takes into account linkages between substance abuse and HIV/ AIDS.
1.

A multi-sectoral approach that harnesses the roles, responsibilities, resources and commitment of all stakeholders 2.

Augmenting existing GBVF instruments 3.

Participation by all stakeholders in the design, implementation and M&E of the plan 4.

Visionary, gender-responsive, transformative response that takes into account inequality and gender-driven differences driving GBVF, with a specific call for men to transform 5.

A human rights-based, survivor-centred approach to the provision of services 6.
An inter-generational, youth friendly approach 7.

Progressive realisation of outcomes through the prioritisation of reforms and partnerships to address systemic challenges 8.

Forward-looking towards creation of social cohesion 9.

Mutual accountability for changes recognising that all stakeholders have to work together to achieve the outcomes 10.

Inclusiveness, embracing diversity and intersectionality, recognising the importance of being rooted in women’s experiences.
Pillar 6: Research & Information management  Improved understanding of the extent and nature of GBVF, broadly and in relation to specific groups and forms in South Africa;  Adoption of GBV policies and programming interventions that are informed by existing evidence-based research;  GBVF related information across different Government management information systems, is readily used to address systemic challenges and facilitate effective solutions and responses.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT Access to economic empowerment is critical for women to have access to other constitutional rights such as health, dignity, freedom of move- ment, and housing.

It gives women the ability to exit violent relation- ships, access good health care, take care of families, and avoid hunger.

Inclusive economic growth means that the effort to advance a country’s growth and development should be produced with the contribution of all citizens.
Considering the assessment that “gender equality brings about economic growth but economic growth does not necessarily bring about gender equality, it is then pertinent to focus on the gen- dered factors that trigger economic growth in a way that results in in- clusive economic growth.
Economic growth and opportunity must in- clude platforms that both encourage and empower women to meaning- % of Women & Men in the SA Labour Market “Until the economic rights of women are met, women will not be completely free.” (Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Opening remarks, Women’s Webinar on Economic Justice for Women) WOMEN’S LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION Between 1995 and 2015, the number of women in the global labour force de- creased from 52.4 to 49.6 percent.
The corresponding figures for men are 79.9 and 76.1 percent, respectively.

World- wide, the chances for women to partic- ipate in the labour market remain al- most 27 percentage points lower than those for men.

Women’s lower partici- pation rates translate into fewer em- ployment opportunities, which nega- tively affects women’s earning capacity and economic security.
While the gen- der unemployment gaps have nar- rowed, this may also be attributed to the global financial crisis which result- ed in the economic downturn of many male-dominated sectors and rising employment for many women who may have had to enter into employ- ment to augment family income.

The International Labour Organisation indicates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, the labour force participation rate re- mains almost unchanged from a dec- ade ago, with little change anticipated through 2021.
According to the 2020 Global Gender Gap Index, South Africa ranks 17th out of 153 countries overall, however, it ranks 92nd in terms of eco- nomic participation and opportunities – a decline from 2006 position of 79th.

The diagrams on the right indicate that while participation rates for women have increased globally, they have re- mained relatively unchanged in Sub- Saharan Africa between 1995 and 2015.
Whilst women in the region have a higher labour participation rate than in any other region, this increased par- ticipation rate is as a result of poverty and a lack of access to social protec- tion, i.e.

more women are entering the labour force out of necessity.

This fac- tor, combined with limited access to education and vocational opportuni- ties, has the resultant effect of more women working in vulnerable and non -formal forms of employment with little or no labour protection.
While gender parity advancements in education have been made, this has not necessarily resulted in better jobs for women.

Patriarchal systems and the persistence of role allocation based on traditional and stereotypical no- tions, such as the perception of men being the “breadwinners” and women the “caretakers” in the home, constrain labour market opportunities for wom- en.

Women face social, economic and ideological barriers to full and equal participation in the economy.
They are often perceived in terms of their do- mestic and reproductive role.

Women participate in large numbers in sectors of the economy that are characterised by low wages and poor working condi- tions.

Low remuneration is worsened by discrimination against women in the receipt of social benefits.

As a re- sult, many women are forced to make a living outside the formal economy.
5 VALUING WOMEN’S UNPAID CARE WORK Women, particularly those in developing countries, generally work longer hours than men as they often bear much more of the household and care responsibilities.

This affects women’s ability and opportunities to participate in the labour market, as well as earning an independent income.

When all of women’s work is taken into account, their economic contribution increases dra- matically and is generally greater than that of men.
In developing countries, women’s work hours exceed men’s by 30 percent.

Yet this often goes unrewarded as it falls under the ambit of traditional roles and women’s unpaid care work.

The United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) notes that despite gains, substantive gaps remain in realising women's equal participation in the labour force.
Globally, only about one in two women takes part in employment for pay or profit, against three in four men—this means that about 700 million fewer women than men were employed in 2016 (1.27 billion versus about 2 billion men).

In addition, household chores have economic value but are not counted in traditional measures of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It is estimated that unpaid work being undertaken by women today “amounts to as much as $10 trillion of output per year, roughly equivalent to 13 percent of global GDP”.

Women are more likely than men to become and remain unemployed, have fewer chances to participate in the labour force and often have to accept lower quality jobs.

An important determinant of gender equalities at work is the unequal distribution of unpaid care and household work between women and men.
Women undertake three times more unpaid work than men and spend about half as much time in paid work.

Even when women are employed, they still carry out the larger share of unpaid household and care work, which limits their capacity to increase their hours in paid, formal and wage and salaried work.

The International Labour Organisation highlights that “the responsibility to fill care gaps is taken up by women in the form of low-paid and unpaid care and household work.
The undervaluation of care work, both paid and unpaid, perpetuates poor work- ing conditions for women, who form the vast majority of the employed care workforce, in particular domestic workers, early childhood care and education personnel, and long-term care workers and nurses, an increasingly large number of whom are migrant workers.” ActionAid notes that a young woman entering the labour market today can expect to work for the equivalent of an average of four years more than her male peers over her lifetime as she is balancing both paid and unpaid care work.
This amounts to the equivalent of an extra month’s work for every woman, every year of a woman’s life.

Target 5.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls upon nations to ‘recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family’.

To this end, the acknowledgement and inclusion of care work as an economic contributor must be expedited.
6 WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE NUMBERS Women and men in South Africa are not equal.

While women in South Africa comprise more than half of the population, they remain under-represented in employ- ment, while also being the majority of those in under- employment.

Women and children are the primary vic- in tims of sexual offences South Africa.

7 In conclusion...
UNLESS WOMEN     Are economically empowered and have equal access to economic and labour oppor- tunities; Are educated and have access to opportunities for further education, skills develop- ment and training; Are safe and can live without fear both inside and outside the home; Are adequately represented in decision-making positions in the public and private sphere;  Have their unpaid care work acknowledged and share equal care responsibilities  with men; Are adequately educated about their rights and have access to all the tools to claim these rights, GENDER EQUALITY WILL NOT BE REALISED Real empowerment of women includes participation in decision-making, the ability to formulate strategic choices, access, own, control resources and decisions that affect important life outcomes.
Any strategies or programmes to promote the empowerment of women must address the array of imbalances still existing in the private and public sector.

Inequalities in rights, resources and agency generally disadvantage women, but they also disadvantage the rest of society and impede development.

It is important that government, the private sector and civil society recognise the importance of women’s equality and socio-economic independence as a vital part of sustained development and democracy.
DECISION-MAKERS MUST  Undertake a gender-mainstreaming approach: Ensure a gender perspective in the development & implementation of all legis-  lation, policies, strategies, programmes.

Implement gender budgeting: - ensure gender-equitable distribution of resources that contribute to equal opportunities for all – link budgets to gender equity outcomes.
 Make targeted gender-responsive investments in areas that impact the lives of women, for example, basic social services, in- frastructure, skill development and training  Monitor expenditure on programmes and initiatives aimed at improving the lives of women, e.g.

expenditure relating to gen- der-based violence prevention and eradication.

 Monitor the implementation of legislation, strategies, policies.
 Collect data on areas for intervention to ensure requisite information for planning and resource allocation.

 Ensure consistent advocacy and awareness about gender-equality—ensure adequate mechanisms and platforms for dialogue.

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